"Phat Tuesdays"

A new docuseries on Prime Video tells the story of Phat Tuesdays, a weekly all-Black comedy night at The Comedy Store on the Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, held from 1995 to 2005.

Video Transcript

- How did you hear about Phat Tuesdays?

- How did you hear about Jesus?

[LAUGHING]

People told you.

[MUSIC - MONTELL JORDAN, "THIS IS HOW WE DO IT"]

GUY TORRY: It's 1995. Comics back then were predominantly white. And I said, man, there's so many funny people doing comedy in the hood. But there was no one there to see them. And I was like, OK. I'ma change that shit.

[MUSIC - MONTELL JORDAN, "THIS IS HOW WE DO IT"]

- Guy was like, Hollywood don't want to come to the hood. So let's take the hood to Hollywood.

GUY TORRY: Every Tuesday, it's in this room. Phat Tuesday.

[APPLAUSE]

[MUSIC - MONTELL JORDAN, "THIS IS HOW WE DO IT"]

I had no idea what the fuck I was doing.

[MUSIC - MONTELL JORDAN, "THIS IS HOW WE DO IT"]

- I saw Chris Rock, Chris Tucker.

- Martin Lawrence, Jamie Foxx.

- Kevin Hart.

GUY TORRY: Every week, sold out.

- It was the neighborhood.

- For the first time, I was able to do Black humor.

- Man, this was really our space.

- Phat Tuesdays was like a melting pot for, like, genius shit.

[MUSIC - MONTELL JORDAN, "THIS IS HOW WE DO IT"]

- Stand up comedy for Black comedians, if it was born out of some specific circumstances.

- We stole my radio, my couch, TV.

- You stole a whole couch?

[LAUGHING]

[MUSIC - MONTELL JORDAN, "THIS IS HOW WE DO IT"]

- Comedians take these topics, take the stress off people, and make them fucking laugh.

[MUSIC - MONTELL JORDAN, "THIS IS HOW WE DO IT"]

- They blame stealing on us like we invented it. Now, we may have perfected it.

[LAUGHING]

I mean, yeah, we may snatch a purse. But we didn't steal the whole country and call it the United States.

[CHEERING]

- You would come here and the agents would see you. Maybe you'd get signed, maybe you'd get a movie, maybe you'd get a TV show.

[MUSIC - MONTELL JORDAN, "THIS IS HOW WE DO IT"]

- It was one of the great Renaissances of Black comedians being ushered in.

- People became stars, man.

[MUSIC - MONTELL JORDAN, "THIS IS HOW WE DO IT"]

- When we created Wild 'n Out, Phat Tuesday was the model.

- Film, TV, fashion, music. We all were thriving.

- Yo, what's up.

[MUSIC - MONTELL JORDAN, "THIS IS HOW WE DO IT"]

- Phat Tuesday was something very special to witness. To say you were there.

[MUSIC - MONTELL JORDAN, "THIS IS HOW WE DO IT"]

- I had some fun here tonight.